Taro squinted for a while before coming to his senses. His chaotic Internal Energy was being reorganized, returning bit by bit to his internal organs.
The damage to his internal organs and Meridians caused him unbearable pain with every bit of Internal Energy that flowed through them.
However, he could only grit his teeth and endure; the circulation and reorganization of his Internal Energy were slowly repairing his internal injuries.
"Sss... sss... I say, couldn't you give me a bit more anesthetic?"
Taro grimaced in pain, questioning the clumsy Military Doctor.
Only after asking did he realize he could speak fluently again, so he followed up with: "What about Fire Fist Ace?"
The Military Doctor was so moved he was almost in tears; Vice Admiral Taro was injured to this extent and yet he was still concerned about his mission.
"Rest assured, he's dead!"
Dead?
Taro's eyes instantly widened, filled with disbelief.
How is that possible? What exactly happened while I was unconscious?
He couldn't accept this outcome at all. He had fought until he reached Obsesion, yet in the end, Whitebeard died, and Blackbeard still obtained the Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability.
And now, Ace is dead too!
Did all that effort turn out to be a joke in the end?
Taro coughed violently several times, his chest heaving as he tried to ask for details.
However, when he saw Garp lying on the ground with his head buried in the rubble, his lips trembled, and he had no choice but to accept this cruel reality.
At that moment, Blackbeard, who was being suppressed by Sengoku, threw a Quake Fist, pushing Sengoku back slightly.
Burgess took the opportunity to leap high into the air, swinging an elbow strike to attack Sengoku.
Almost simultaneously, Garp climbed up from the ground, leaped into the air, and smashed a heavy punch down, hammering him directly into the ruins.
"I am also a Marine, and I have a duty to protect this Marineford!"
Noticing Sengoku's surprise, Garp spoke solemnly.
"A bunch of old fogies who won't die, let me show you something!" The scars and blood on Blackbeard's Face made his expression exceptionally hideous.
He raised both hands high, forming tiger-claw shapes, and then suddenly ripped downward, shattering the Void Realm.
The massive Earthquake tore through the already devastated Marineford once again; amidst the cataclysm, the seawater was overturned.
"Jiehahahaha, what a delightful ability!"
"Your era has passed along with Whitebeard, Buddha Sengoku, Hero Garp!"
Having obtained the Tremor-Tremor Fruit ability, Blackbeard was more arrogant than ever before.
Meanwhile, Akainu, who had fallen into the rift, melted through the rock walls and emerged once more.
It must be said that Red Doggy lived up to his iron-blooded reputation; among the Three Admirals, he was the most heavily injured, yet his resolve to hunt down pirates was the firmest.
With blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, Akainu transformed entirely into scorching magma, searching for Dragon's location, but found nothing.
He couldn't help but look toward Aokiji. "Where is that bastard?"
Aokiji stood with one hand in his pocket and the other tapping his forehead, saying lazily, "He probably ran away."
"You!" Heat suddenly billowed from Akainu's magma form, and his flushed Face turned a glowing black-red.
"Well, if he didn't run, would you have the ability to keep him here?" Aokiji remarked casually.
Enraged to the extreme, Akainu gave a cold snort and walked forward.
Behind them, the Marine Soldier Koby, who had awakened Observation Haki, knelt on the ground and cried with his head in his hands, his mind filled with the shouts and wails of the entire battlefield.
Suddenly, he scrambled up and rushed toward Akainu, who was preparing to continue pursuing the other pirates.
"Stop right there!"
With tears streaming down his Face, Koby spread his arms and blocked Akainu's path.
"Stop the war! Don't fight anymore! Every soldier has a family waiting for them to come home!"
"We've already achieved our goal, yet we're still relentlessly pursuing pirates who are at the end of their rope and leaving soldiers who could be saved to die!"
"Isn't that just like a fool?"
Koby exhausted all his strength, his voice echoing across the entire battlefield. After finishing, facing the black-faced Akainu, his legs trembled with fear, yet he kept his arms wide open.
"You've wasted several more seconds of my time. The Marines have no need for soldiers with distorted values."
Akainu was already extremely annoyed by Dragon's interference, and now his Face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. He aimed a magma punch at Koby and smashed it down.
Clang
A sword blocked in front of Koby, stopping Akainu's attack.
"You did well, young Marine!"
The owner of the sword was none other than the red-haired Shanks.
This Face-Face Fruit ability user was finally here to end this war.
The charisma radiating from Shanks from the inside out caught everyone's attention.
Everyone step aside, I'm about to start showing off.
Taro knew exactly what was going to happen next, so he didn't focus on Shanks, but instead looked at the two groups of people following behind him.
One group was naturally the crew of the Red Hair Pirates.
The other group consisted of only two people. Taro recognized one of them; wearing a peach-colored short dress, she was the Headquarters Vice Admiral, "Momousagi" Gion.
The remaining one was about 170cm tall and, judging by her physique, was also a woman.
She wore a pure white uniform and a strange mask covering her Face. With golden hair and graceful movements, she was full of charm.
The henchmen of the World Government, the lackeys of the Celestial Dragons, the intelligence agency that fought against the Revolutionary Army—CP0!
Taro guessed her identity just by looking at her attire, and he even had a good idea of who she was.
Stussy, nicknamed the "queen of pleasure street."
How could they have come here with Red Hair? Taro was greatly surprised!
"I have come... to end this war!"
Shanks' Face-Face Fruit was still very effective; for a moment, everyone stopped what they were doing.
The northeast coast of Marineford island.
As a gale swept past, Dragon's figure appeared on the embankment. He faced the sea, looking into the distance.
A massive palm stretched out from the ground behind him, and a girl with orange hair, a pink shirt, and goggles on her head jumped down from that giant palm.
"Thanks, Morley!" The girl reached out to grab one finger of the giant hand, her Face beaming with a bright smile.
"You're welcome, Koala!" A rough but polite voice came from underground, and then the giant hand retracted into the earth.
Surprisingly, after the hand retracted, the ground returned to normal as if nothing had happened. No one would have guessed that an arm had once stretched out from here.
"How is his condition?" Dragon asked softly without turning around.
"Not very good. His left chest was pierced, he's lost too much blood, and he's still unconscious."
Koala said this with great worry.
"Crow is on his way. Later, hand him over to Crow to be taken to the Drum Kingdom. There's someone there who can save him."
Dragon lowered his eyelids and spoke in a low voice, his mind recalling the scene from not long ago.
Even the heavily injured Jinbe hadn't realized that after that magma pillar pierced through his chest, it actually still had enough power to pierce through Luffy.
It was that man, drained of all strength, who struggled at the last moment to throw himself onto Luffy's body.
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